Sunday, 31 July 2016

Ahmedabad: In a major bonanza for over 8.77 lakh Gujarat government employees and pensioners ahead of next year’s assembly polls, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today announced the implementation of 7th Pay Commission from tomorrow.

Over 4.65 lakh Gujarat government employees and more than 4.12 lakh pensioners would benefit from this decision, a release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.

However, the state government employees will not get pay hike benefits from January 1 this year as accepted by the Centre, instead it will be effective from August 1.

“Chief Minister Anandiben Patel has accepted the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission and announced to implement it in the state from August 1,” it said.

The Centre had on July 25 notified the implementation of 7th Pay Commission for Central Government employees from January 1.

As per the release, the new hike will benefit employees and pensioners of state government, panchayats and granted institutions in Gujarat.

“Employees of class-4 to class-1 will now get a hike of 14.60 per cent to 25 per cent in their salaries,” it added.

As the Centre is now expected to start deliberations to decide the hike in allowances, the state government will take appropriate decision about allowances as per the announcement by the Centre, added the release.

Earlier, Gujarat government spokesperson and state Finance Minister Saurabh Patel had said that the government may have to bear an extra-burden of Rs 6,000 crore annually if it decides to implement the pay hike suggested by the 7th Pay Commission.

The elections in Gujarat are scheduled to be held in the later part of 2017.

New Delhi: Five lakh railway employees comprising front office staff, TTEs, guards, drivers and catering personnel will soon don new uniforms created by fashion designer Ritu Beri woven around the theme of Indian culture.

Beri submitted four different sets of uniform, each with a distinct texture, to the Railway Ministry five days back and the public transporter will soon launch an online initiative on Twitter, Facebook and the ministry’s website seeking the views of people to help it select the attire.

In the first phase, the new uniform will be issued to five lakh of 13 lakh employees of the Indian Railway.

Beri said the look of the uniform will be an ode to India and her exoticism.

“The focus is to reflect modern India while respecting our deep-rooted tradition and culture, thus reflecting the glory of India. The uniforms will be Indo-western in cut and silhouette with comfort being the most important factor,” she said.

The idea behind introducing the new uniform is to instill a sense of pride and belonging among the staff rendering their services to around two crore passengers every day, a senior official involved in the project said.

He said, in the first phase, front office staff, guards, drivers and catering personnel, onboard staff, station masters, loco pilots, train ticket examiners and gangmen will be given the uniform at an estimated cost about Rs 50 crore. The new uniform will also be given to the technical staff in workshops and production units.

Currently, railway staff including TTEs, station masters and guards wear uniforms which were designed long ago.

Beri’s new collection includes sarees and T-shirts.

The new dress is expected to be ready for use by the year-end, the official said, adding a common uniform can be worn for ceremonial occasions like celebration of Railway Day, sporting events and prize distribution ceremonies.

One of the designs Beri has submitted is based on tribal art, while the other is inspired by rustic coins and currency of the ‘golden period’ of the country. The third is based on the legacy of nawabs, while fourth is inspired by pop art. The fourth option, classified as vibrant soul of India, reflects elements of culture, business, music and entertainment.

“The work on the uniform designs is in progress. For now,

we have made the first presentation. We have worked very hard for two months and researched on various possibilities. We will work with Khadi, our national fabric, which also works well given our climate conditions.

“The idea is to create uniforms that are attractive, impactful and comfortable at the same time. I wish to retain our traditional look but give it a modern twist in keeping with today’s times,” Beri told

New Delhi: After witnessing a sluggish first half, FMCG firm Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) expects demand to be better in the remaining period of the year with implementation of 7th Pay Commission and passing of GST likely to increase consumption.

“Overall, we should see a boost to consumption in India, following the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission and the passing of GST. We are hopeful that the second half of the year will be better than the first,” GCPL Managing Director Vivek Gambhir told PTI.

He further said: “We are hopeful to see an uptake in demand with an improved monsoon”.

The company, which last week reported a consolidated net sales of Rs 2,120.22 crore in the Q1 of financial year 2016-17 and a net profit of Rs 244.27 crore, is extending its offering in the personal care and household insecticides category.

“We already have natural platforms in both hair and soap, we are now we are building the natural Household Insecticides category as well. Neem has strong Indian roots and it is known to be effective and safe to use,” he said.

The company which has recently launched Cinthol deostick for men and women has plans to extend the brand into a male grooming brand.

“While these are early days, the response has been very encouraging. We will continue to invest behind this and extend Cinthol into a male grooming platform,” Gambhir said.

During this quarter, 50.09 per cent of GCPL sales were contributed from the international markets and rest 49.90 was from the domestic market.

GCPL’s revenue form its Indonesian business was Rs 376.20 crore and the company expects it to be better in the coming quarters.

“Our Indonesia business has delivered good sales growth despite the macroeconomic slowdown in the country. Given the changes the government is introducing we hope to see better growth going ahead,” he said.